People often say they love to play ping-pong. Fine, but let’s get up to date.

Table Tennis, not ping-pong, is the accepted name today for the sport played on a flat wood surface, hitting small plastic balls with paddles over a net and keeping score. Table Tennis in America is a growing sport, featured at the recent summer Olympics and played by tens of millions worldwide, along with a devoted cadre on Martha’s Vineyard.

The Martha’s Vineyard Table Tennis Club has recently celebrated its 12th anniversary and embarked on its fall season in a new playing  venue: the Tisbury Council on Aging in Vineyard Haven. The club has fitted a roomy downstairs space with four tournament tables, nets, new lighting and a plan to install a table tennis robot.

The sport as an organization is not new to the Island. In 2004, Aquinnah residents Craig (Spa) Tharpe and John Walsh came up with the idea to host two days weekly for open play, all Islanders invited. They named the event Quinapong. Initially they played in the Aquinnah town Hall and then moved on to the West Tisbury School. Quinapong thrived there for a decade and inspired play at the YMCA and then at the regional high school.

The name ping-pong is outdated but has been commonly used in Europe, Asia and the Americas, at least since 1901. Use of the term was adapted by Parker Brothers as a trademark, though it was marketed by Parker Brothers and its customers as “table tennis” in 1920.

In 1933, The United States Table Tennis Association, now called USA Table Tennis, was founded.

Table Tennis was introduced in 1988 as a sport for the summer Olympics with events for both mens and womens teams. The competition is governed today by the International Table Tennis Federation involving 226 member associations worldwide. The organization also sets official rules for the game.

USA Table Tennis (USATT) is governing body of the sport in the United States. It maintains a national rating and ranking system and oversees USA national and Olympic teams. Over 14,000 members support the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.

Playing the game, either singles or doubles, for most people is a fun weekend activity. Others do it for exercise and it offers plenty of stretching, eye coordination, and fast leg movement.

Members of clubs, such as the Martha’s Vineyard Table Tennis Club, factor in competition. Some club players will go at it aggressively to improve skills by practicing at home, the local Y or invest in a table tennis robot as an expert training tool and mechanical partner.

Watching a match on television involving top international players is an eye opener for most people. Players literally fly side-to-side, forward and back, like motorized ballet dancers.

Schedules of club and league tournaments nationwide can be obtained by contacting USA.org.

Club member Albert Lau may be the most avid fan of this action. He has traveled to the World Table Tennis Championships this year in Busan, South Korea, and plans to attend the final matches in Fukuoka, Japan.

Table Tennis play takes place at the Tisbury Council on Aging, at 34 Pine Tree Road, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 5 to 8 p.m. Visit mvtabletennis.com for more information.

Bob O’Rourke lives on Chappaquiddick.